Midsummer Night’s Dream: William Shakespeare RSC, RSC, RST. Stratford Upon AvonRuns: 2hrs 50mins till 30 March 2024; One interval. Review: 17 February 2024. 4✩✩✩✩ Review: Rod Dungate
Midsummer Night’s Dream: William Shakespeare
RSC, RST. Stratford Upon Avon
Runs: 2hrd 50mins till 30 March 2024; One interval
Review: Rod Dungate, 17 February 2024
4✩✩✩✩ Review: Rod Dungate
“A boisterous Midsummer Night’s Dream, very good in part; Creative Audio Description an excellent initiative but a work in progress”
First of all the review.
Eleanor Rhode’s production is an energetic, inventive and playful production. It fully engages us, but its gloss is dulled by some ill-chosen effects and sub-standard performances.
The four lovers at the centre of the play engage with their youthful zest, with much knock-about fun. Great stuff. But sometimes this is at the expense of the play’s depth and characterisation. For instance Ryan Hutton’s Lysander draws us towards him but theatrical silliness may get laughs but removes any sense of Court. Nicholas Armfield’s Demetrius is beautifully three-dimensional, and the language is masterfully handled.
This cannot be said for Premi Tamang, Dawn Sievewright, and Boadicea Ricketts (Puck, Hermia and Helena respectively.) These performers lack vocal skills seen elsewhere in the production and which should be expected at the RSC. They produce a head-voice which is both shrill and shouted, this, together with an almost total absence of consonants means they cannot be fully understood. Shame, because Puck is inventively created, albeit the dark side is missing.
Titania is wonderful, Sirine Saba has the language under complete control.
The faeries (often a bit of an embarrassment) are far from playful, full of threat and all the more exciting for it.
The workers are nicely done, with a great comedic performance from Matthew Baynton as Bottom. The Pyramus and Thisbe Interlude is given its head. It is great clowning, no doubt about it, but, at the risk of sounding as bit of a grump, it tends to over-shadow the rest of the production, which is a shame.
Lucy Osborne’s designs are simple and hugely successful.
And for the Creative Audio Description; it is headed up by Benjamin Wilson.
Elsewhere in ReviewsGate can be found an interview with two of the RSC’s team of Audio Describers. RG visitors will be aware that in recent times I review AD performances as a vision impaired audience member. This production does not have this usual style of AD.
Instead, the AD is handed over to cast members, who audio describe ‘live’. Moreover, instead of being ‘transparent’ the AD is more up front, with the describers characterising their contributions , often commenting on the action as if from within the play-world. This is intriguing; sometimes it is effective, sometimes irritating.
For the most part he AD is helpful (as it should be) but there is less than usual so there are gaps when AD would have helped. The long spaces of no-AD were (for me at least) disconcerting as I fell to wondering if my receiver had stopped working. AD in some gaps would have been helpful.
A large range of actors participate in the AD, some more successfully than others.; they lack, however, the level of skill of the regular Describers. The huge advantage of this style of AD is that every performance becomes accessible to VI audience members, not just those performances marked AD.
This is an admirable work in progress.
Cast
Demetrius – Nicholas Armfield
Bottom – Matthew Baynton
Snout – Emily Cundick
Oberon/Theseus – Bally Gill
Cobweb – Esme Hough
Lysander – Ryan Hutton
Peaseblossom – Charlote Jaconelli
Snug – Laure Jamieson
Egeus – Neil McCaul
Peter Quince – Helen Monks
Moth – Michael Olatunji
Philostrate – Adrian Richards
Helena – Boadicea Ricketts
Titania/Hippolyta – Sirine Sabe
Ruck – Rosie Sheehy
Hermia – Dawn Sievewright
Flute – Mitesh Soni
Strarveling – Premi Tamang
Mustardseed – Tom Xander
Creatives
Director – Eleanor Rhode
Sets & Costumes – Lucy Osborne
Illusion Director & Designer – Matt Daw
Music – Will Gregory
Sound – Pete Malkin
Music Director – Bruce O’Neil
Creative Audio Description – Benjamin Wilson